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Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Smart or not so smart matches on MyHeritage

The instant discovery technology embedded in the MyHeritage site affords a quick method for folks to add to their family tree without doing any research. The blog post with accompanying video explains how it works.

Instant Discoveries™ allow new users to progress from small tree seedlings, with only a handful of individuals, to large blooming trees with many branches, in just minutes.

Since its implementation I have been offered quite a few suggestions via instant discovery but have chosen not to add them as none have been related to my direct line of ancestors but rather to distant family members.

The Smart matches in MyHeritage also offer another way of discovering family members and since the implementation of Instant discoveries my Smart matches have risen exponentially.
Herein lies the problem - when I investigate the Smart matches offered, too many times I find that they are matches back to my own data that someone has added to their tree via an Instant discovery

Here's a great aunt appearing on my tree with citations for death and burial.

Now I find I'm offered a Smart match on another tree, same person indeed but no sources.

When I further investigate that profile on the other tree, I find the only source citation is a link back to my tree as the information has been added via an Instant Discovery but stripped of the event citations in the process.

I had confirmed several of these so called Smart matches before I discovered what was going on.

So MyHeritage, do let me know why I should waste my time confirming what I have already input and perhaps explain why the event citations are not added in the Instant Discovery process.

I have no problem with people finding and using my carefully researched data, but I don't wish to reconfirm it via smart matches every time it is used. Why not give them the source citations too so they can check it for themselves? Surely this would be a more responsible manner to promote verified data.